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How I Met Your Mother Review: The Dobler Dahmer Theory

This week on How I Met Your Mother, Ted and the others explored the fine line between love and insanity.

"P. S. I Love You" took us back to the age of jelly bracelets and graffiti coats, as we witnessed a teen idol's fall from stardom. Barney, Ted and Marshall's eyes were all opened to just how easily life can go from charming to alarming when dealing with matters of the heart.

Starting with Ted... oh how I would have loved Abby Elliot to be the mother. I have missed her ever since her departure from Saturday Night Live. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her character, Jeanette, seated across from Ted on that subway car. For an instant, my imagination ran wild, without any recognition of what we know about how Ted meets his wife. In the end Jeanette wasn't his "John Cusack," but Ted was quite lucky if she was the last "mistake" he made before meeting his one true love.

While Ted took another step toward meeting his bride, Marshall and Lily backtracked to the day they met. We learned that Lily took fate into her own hands and went looking to create her destiny. She may have knocked on Marshall's door under false pretenses, but their connection was anything but artificial and has outlasted the warranty on countless electronics over the years.

Collectively the three friends delivered the episode's best string of How I Met Your Mother quotes when they gushed with anticipation of seeing the downfall of Robin's alter ego on tape. The tape they had thanks to Barney playing a mean game of quid pro quo, at Timmy Ho's north of the border. Each ex of Robin's was funnier than the previous one as they took turns divulging names for doughnuts. Eventually Barney came face to face with Simon (James Van Der Beek), who blew his well dressed mind all while sporting a sick hairline.

It was a big night for Canada as How I Met your Mother rolled out the Maple Leaf red carpet for the likes of Jason Priestley and Alex Trebek. The best cameo goes to Dave Coulier who, while denying any involvement with Robin, referenced his relationship with Alanis Morissette and the hate filled inspiration he provided her.

Robin Sparkles' career may have fizzled with the birth of Robin Daggers, but I enjoyed seeing what happened when the glitter wore off and the eye liner got thick. Barney getting a glimpse into his fiance's one-time madness while reading her journals was reminiscent, in a more light hearted way, of Wendy Torrence reading Jack's novel in The Shining. Lucky for Robin she has Barney to make sure her life isn't all work and no play.

While some How I Met Your Mother Season 8 episodes have served to merely keep me interested, tonight's installment reminded me of all the reasons I have loved this show for so long. From the big scenes like Underneath the Tunes, to the more subtle touches like Barney's voice slipping into a Canadian accent a few times, tonight had it all.